Scores protest over assault on Indian ministers

Supporters of Indian ministers assaulted by student demonstrators held protests on Wednesday, demanding the arrest of those who heckled the officials.

West Bengal state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Amit Mitra were manhandled by outraged demonstrators over the death of a student activist in police custody in Calcutta last week, reports BBC.

The Student’s Federation of India had accused the police of assaulting Sudipta Gupta, 22, while he was being taken in a bus to prison for defying police prohibitory orders during a protest.

Banerjee was on her way to the planning commission office in Delhi when she was met by an angry mob. She was safely escorted by policewomen to the commission office, while demonstrators shoved Mitra around. Mitra was taken to the hospital after suffering a bleeding nose, some reports say.

“Delhi is not safe. I was manhandled. When I tried to get down to the planning commission office, the police did not cooperate at all,” Banerjee told reporters.

The Trinamool Congress Party said it “disapproved of and condemned” the assault on the ministers while West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan described it as “a blot on India’s cherished democratic values”.